River Range Research Articles

A River Channel Extraction Method Based on a Digital Elevation Model Retrieved from Satellite Imagery

The river border positioning is an important part of river surveys, which is crucial for water conservation project development, water resource use, water disasters, river regime monitoring, and many other applications related to water resources. Currently, satellite images or field measurements are used to extract river channels. However, satellite images are insufficiently precise, and field measurement requires significant manpower and cost. In this paper, a new method for river channel extraction is proposed, which is based on the combination of Jenks natural breaks classification method and digital elevation model (DEM), and then the river channel range is complemented by using the water range monitored by GF-1(Gaofen-1 satellite) in flood season. The overall precision is greater than 85%, and the Kappa values achieve moderate stability (0.41–0.60). Using this method, the extraction of river range is practicable and achievable, and the higher the DEM resolution, the better the extraction result.

A Bryological Survey in Dickinson Park, Wind River Range, Wyoming

Dickinson Park is a difficult-to-access remote subalpine parkland in the Shoshone National Forest of Wyoming; it is located on the east slope of the Wind River Range (Central Rocky Mountains), immediately south of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The area has never been previously visited by bryologists. As a result of a bryological inventory conducted in the Park in 2012 (and subsequent laboratory research through 2019), 121 species, three subspecies, and five varieties were documented by voucher specimens. Of this total, 17 species, three subspecies, and two varieties are hepatics and 104 species and three varieties are mosses. The bryophyte checklist is presented, based on 990 specimens from 35 sites, collected by the author. Fourteen species of mosses have not previously been reported for Wyoming in the Flora of North America North of Mexico. There are 89 taxa (10 species, two subspecies, and one variety of hepatics and 74 species and two varieties of mosses) that are reported new for Fremont County. Three regionally rare species are documented on intact habitat sites of eutrophic fens located within the Park, Meesia triquetra, Paludella squarrosa, and Sphagnum angustifolium; their distribution in Wyoming is updated, based on recent publications and new herbarium materials.

Riparian vegetation shade restoration and loss effects on recent and future stream temperatures.

River temperatures are expected to increase this century harming species requiring cold-water habitat unless restoration activities protect or improve habitat availability. Local shading by riparian vegetation can cool water temperatures, but uncertainty exists over the scaling of this local effect to larger spatial extents. We evaluate this issue using a regional spatial stream network temperature model with covariates representing shade effects to predict mean August stream temperatures across 78,195 km of tributaries flowing into the Columbia River in the northwestern US. We evaluate nine scenarios predicting stream temperatures for three riparian shade conditions (current, restored, and no riparian vegetation) within three different climate periods (2000s, 2040s, and 2080s). Results suggest riparian shade restoration (2000s climate) could decrease mean August stream temperatures by 0.62°C across the study network. Under the same restored shade conditions, temperature predictions for tributaries at their confluence with the Columbia River range from 0.02-2.08°C cooler than under current shade conditions. The climate warming effect predicted for the 2040s and 2080s, however, is greater than the cooling effect from restoring riparian shade. Streams less than 10m bankfull width cooled more frequently with riparian shade restoration. In Oregon, the proportion of fish habitat for salmon and trout rearing and migration that meet temperature numeric water quality criteria could be increased by 20% under restored shade conditions although net habitat declines may still occur in the future. We conclude riparian vegetation restoration could partially mitigate future warming and help maintain cold-water habitats that function as thermal refuges if implemented strategically.

Partitioning strategy for investigating the prediction capability of bed load transport under varied hydraulic conditions: Application of robust GWO-kernel-based ELM approach

In this study, modeling capability of bed load sediment transport was investigated under varied hydraulic conditions through Grey Wolf Optimization based Kernel Extreme Learning Machine (GWO-KELM) and Standard Gradient Descent based Gaussian Process Regression (SGD-GPR) models. 966 sets of data, covering wide range of gravel-bed rivers and streams were utilized to test the developed methodology. The partitioning strategy was used in which, the available data was categorized into different quantitative intervals based on the hydraulic and sediment characteristics. Some specific quantitative intervals of the bed load transport rate, flow discharge, median particle size of bed material, the Shear Reynolds number and the ratio of hydraulic radius to median particle size were examined. The results demonstrated the great consistent performance of the proposed hybrid GWO-KELM model under different hydraulic conditions.

Method of GPR studies of ice cover (the Lena River range from the Tabaginsky Cape to the Kangalassky Cape as a study case)

Method of GPR studies of ice cover (the Lena River range from the Tabaginsky Cape to the Kangalassky Cape as a study case)

Macrophyte diversity in rivers and streams of the Vologda Region and several other regions of Russia.

BackgroundThe data paper contains the authors’ materials on the diversity of macrophytes, macroscopic plants regardless of their taxonomic position, in rivers and streams of East European Russia and Western Siberia. These data, collected on 247 rivers and 32 streams in 13 administrative regions of the Russian Federation, were provided as an occurrence dataset presented in the form of GBIF-mediated data. The main portion of the data was obtained in water objects of the Vologda Region (5201 occurrences). In addition, occurrences from the Arkhangelsk Region (347 occurrences), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (159), Yaroslavl Region (132), Novgorod Region (97), Kostroma Region (41), Republic of Karelia (31), Sverdlovsk Region (29), Komi Republic (28), Orenburg Region (26), Chelyabinsk Region (22), Voronezh Region (22) and Tyumen Region (18) were given. The studies were carried out mainly in the southern and middle taiga and, to a lesser extent, in the northern taiga and the forest-steppe. The analysed watercourses belong to five drainage basins: the Azov Sea, the Baltic Sea, the White Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Kara Sea. The dataset contains materials on the diversity of Plantae (6094 occurrences) and Chromista (59 occurrences). This paper, in a standardised form, summarises mostly unpublished materials on the biodiversity of lotic ecosystems.New informationThe paper summarises the data obtained in long-term studies of phytodiversity in a range of rivers and streams of East European Russia and, fragmentarily, Western Siberia. A total of 6153 occurrences were included in the dataset. According to the GBIF taxonomic backbone, the dataset comprises 292 taxa, including 280 lower-rank taxa (species, subspecies, varieties) and 12 taxa identified to the genus level. All the occurrences are published openly through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) for the first time. Most of the data were stored in field diaries and, thus, by adding the data in GBIF, we believe that other researchers could benefit from it.

Glaciers Control the Hydrogeochemistry of Proglacial Streams During Late Summer in the Wind River Range, Wyoming, United States

Glaciers alter the geochemistry of sensitive alpine streams by exposing freshly weathered bedrock and releasing atmospherically deposited trace metals from melting ice. Changes in the timing and quantity of glacial melt also affect discharge and temperature of alpine streams. To investigate the effects of glacier meltwater on the geochemistry and hydrology of proglacial streams in the western US, we sampled supraglacial meltwaters and proglacial streams in the Dinwoody Creek watershed in the Wind River Range, Wyoming during a one-week period in 2015. The upper watershed contains Gannett Glacier ( ∼ 5 km2) and Dinwoody Glacier ( ∼ 4 km2) at elevations between 3,300–4,000 m asl. Samples were collected during late summer (27 August–4 September) when the contributions of glacier meltwater were highest. Supraglacial meltwater was enriched in a suite of trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Mn, Pb, Zn) relative to proglacial streams, suggesting an atmospheric source of metals to the glaciers. Concentrations of major ions and the remaining 30+ analyzed trace elements were enriched in proglacial streams relative to supraglacial meltwater, reflecting weathering of granite and gneiss bedrock. To evaluate the diurnal effects of glacier meltwater inputs, we deployed loggers to monitor water levels, temperature, and specific conductance at 15 min intervals over a one-week period and collected hourly water samples from Dinwoody Creek for a 24 h period. The influx of glacial meltwater during the daytime diluted major ion and rare earth element concentrations and caused increased concentrations for a subset of trace metals. Stable water isotopes (δD and δ18O) in Dinwoody Creek were more depleted during peak flow relative to baseflow due to contributions from isotopically depleted meltwater. The combination of multiple hydrologic tracers (solute concentrations, high frequency logger data, water isotopes) shows strong potential to improve estimates of glacier meltwater contributions to proglacial streams. Changes in water chemistry and discharge need to be monitored as glaciers recede across the Wind River Range and other midlatitude mountain ranges for mitigating negative impacts on alpine ecosystems and downstream water resources.

River relationships: For the love of rivers

AbstractIn our writing, we voice stories of two Australian rivers to convey Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Interweaving academic literature, nature writing and creativity, we craft a story of reconnection that is transformative, action‐oriented and potentially political. An open mind, place‐intuition and the process of attending can deepen our river relationships, creating a sense of love and communicative connectedness. Paying deep attention, we notice meanings embedded in plain sight, within hearing range of rivers and watery places. Our relationships may be “in our faces” such as the wind, or the air, water or bushes nearby. We communicate across binaries to experience the dissolution of imagined barriers. Feeling, hearing, writing and storytelling can support verbalising of experience, helping to bring to mind place‐wisdom. It offers an everyday possibility for people now estranged from their riverine kin. The process uses a post‐human‐centred, common worlds frame to consider the Anthropocene in regenerative ways. It is creative and liberating, and rivers are dying for people to take action by speaking out for and with our greater selves. In this learning journey, we synthesise learnings, hoping to inspire people everywhere to hear the call of rivers, to respond, take action and learn to love their rivers again.

Chemical Effects of Snowmelt on an Alpine Lake in the Wind River Range, WY

Chemical Effects of Snowmelt on an Alpine Lake in the Wind River Range, WY

Hydrogeochemistry of River Water in the Upper Reaches of the Datong River Basin, China: Implications of Anthropogenic Inputs and Chemical Weathering

AbstractThis research investigated anthropogenic inputs and chemical weathering in the upper reaches of the Datong River Basin, a tributary of the upper Yellow River, NW China. Multiple approaches were applied to data from 52 water and 12 soil samples from the Muli, Jiangcang, and Mole basins to estimate the chemical component concentrations and to analyze hydrochemical characteristics, distribution patterns, and origins in this coal mining‐affected river basin. Coal mining has enhanced the weathering of the lithosphere in the study region. The total dissolved solids in the river range from 145.4 to 701.9 mg/L, which is higher than the global average for rivers. Ion concentration spatial distributions increase around mining areas. River geochemistry is mainly controlled by coal mining activity, carbonate weathering, and silicate weathering, with variances of 33.4%, 26.2%, and 21.3%, respectively. Ca2+, Mg2+, and HCO3− are mainly due to the dissolution of carbonate minerals (calcite > dolomite); Si and K+ are mainly from potassium (sodium) feldspar weathering; and Na+ and SO42‐ mainly from coal mine production. A conceptual model of the river water ion origins from the study area is presented and management implications for improving the adverse effects of coal mining are proposed. These results provide an important standard reference for water resource and environmental management in the study region.

Does soil bioengineering benefits aquatic biodiversity? An empirical study of the relative influence of local and regional drivers on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages

Riverine ecosystems form a dendritic network in which landscape and catchment-scale properties influence freshwater community structure. Placed in a restoration framework, this suggests that regional drivers can overrule the benefit of measures aiming at improving local habitat quality. Disentangling the relative influence of local and regional drivers on freshwater communities is thus crucial for ecosystem management and restoration. Along riverbanks, soil bioengineering is often used to both control erosion and improve ecological conditions. Soil bioengineering techniques aim at copying naturally functioning riverbank models and can thus be viewed as riparian ecosystem restoration. Nevertheless, these techniques are mostly designed at the local scale and are implemented in a broad range of rivers. This implies large variations in regional drivers, which may greatly influence the response of freshwater communities to restoration efforts. We studied 37 riverbanks, from civil engineering to soil bioengineering, plus natural willow stands, in the foothills of the Alps and Jura Mountains, and assessed the relative influence of local (terrestrial and aquatic habitat conditions) and regional (water quality, hydrological context and land cover composition) drivers on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. Using multivariate GLM and structural equation modelling, we investigated variations in the taxonomic and functional composition and in the diversity of native, exotic, shredder and scraper taxa to both set of drivers. Our results showed that soil bioengineering improved local habitat conditions, with an increase in the vegetation density and in the aquatic habitat quality. These changes directly influenced functional composition but indirectly diversity patterns. Instead, we found that native and shredder species richness increased between civil engineered and soil bioengineered structures, suggesting a positive effect of vegetated riverbanks on other local abiotic factors (i.e. shade, water temperature, organic matter supply). Our results also showed that macroinvertebrates were more influenced by regional than by local drivers. Thus, the hydrological context best explained the composition of taxa feeding habits and variation in taxa diversity, with larger abundance and richness of scrapers and shredders in small headwater streams. Land cover ranked second in explaining variation in functional composition. Also, the diversity of natives, scrapers and shredders increased as the proportion of predominantly urban landscapes decreased. Finally, the abundance of scraper and native species increased with water quality, while the richness of exotic species decreased. Overall, these results highlight the hierarchical structure of local and regional drivers on freshwater communities. Along river networks, catchment-scale properties and landscape attributes are major drivers of macroinvertebrate assemblages. Soil bioengineering improves habitat quality and as such appears to be a good compromise solution to control erosion and support freshwater communities, even though this nature-based solution cannot solve anthropogenic pressures at larger scales. To improve the efficiency of restoration efforts, integrated approaches accounting for both local and regional drivers remains a priority.

Genetic and Morphological Consequences of Inter-haplogroup Hybridization in Faxonius virilis

Faxonius virilis were sampled from native population and introduced populations within a narrow range of the South Saskatchewan River in southern Alberta. We hypothesize that introduced Great Lake F. virilis has hybridized with native prairie F. virilis. Tissue samples were taken for genetics, multiple specimens were collected to compare geometric morphometrics between the two known species and the hybrids. COI and GAPDH along with microsatellite markers show distinction within the grouping. The importance of this study is to identify populations of hybrids for future management plans.

Water Use Efficiency and Stress Tolerance of the Potential Energy Crop Miscanthus lutarioriparius Grown on the Loess Plateau of China.

As a potential energy crop with high biomass yield, Miscanthus lutarioriparius (M. lutarioriparius), endemic to the Long River Range in central China, needs to be investigated for its acclimation to stressful climatic and soil conditions often found on the marginal land. In this study, traits related to acclimation and yield, including survival rates, plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), tiller number (TN), water use efficiency (WUE), and photosynthetic rates (A), were examined for 41 M. lutarioriparius populations that transplanted to the arid and cold Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that the average survival rate of M. lutarioriparius populations was only 4.16% over the first winter but the overwinter rate increased to 35.03% after the second winter, suggesting that plants having survived the first winter could have acclaimed to the low temperature. The strikingly high survival rates over the second winter were found to be 95.83% and 80.85%, respectively, for HG18 and HG39 populations. These populations might be especially valuable for the selection of energy crops for such an area. Those individuals surviving for the two consecutive winters showed significantly higher WUE than those measured after the first winter. The high WUE and low stomatal conductance (gs) observed in survived individuals could have been responsible for their acclimation to this new and harsh environment. A total of 61 individuals with productive growth traits and strong resistance to cold and drought were identified for further energy crop development. This study showed that the variation of M. lutarioriparius held great potential for developing energy crops following continuous field selection.

Physically Based Scaling Models to Predict Gas Transfer Velocity in Streams and Rivers

AbstractAir‐water gas transfer influences fundamental processes of aquatic systems such as photosynthesis, respiration, and greenhouse gas emission. Previous predictive models for gas transfer velocity (KL) often only apply to a small range of streams and rivers. Two “universal” scalings, KL ∼ 1/4 power of turbulent dissipation rate (ε1/4) and KL ∼ shear velocity (U*), deduced from classic thin‐film theory and surface renewal theory, have been reported for lake and marine systems, but have not been adequately tested for streams or rivers. To test the two scalings and understand how KL varies across systems, we compiled 588 field measurements of KL, and used inverse modeling based on long‐term high‐frequency dissolved oxygen time series to estimate KL of 35 streams and rivers capturing a wide range of discharge (0–221 m3/s). We found that the two scalings held for both the KL estimated by inverse modeling and the KL from measurements and outperformed 23 previous models in predicting KL. Furthermore, the main driver of KL variation shifts from bottom friction to other factors with increasing stream/river size. In most streams and a few rivers, correlation between U* and KL is high, and discharge‐KL relationships are strongly positive, indicating that turbulence generated by bottom friction dominates near‐surface turbulence, a fundamental control of KL, thus, the two scaling models are applicable to these systems. However, most rivers (mean discharge >10 m3/s) show low correlations between U* and KL, suggesting biochemical factors and winds likely override bottom friction in driving near‐surface turbulence and KL.

Characteristics of Phosphorus Speciation and Genesis in Typical Tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir

A comparative analysis of phosphate occurrence and its genesis during different dispatching periods of representative level I tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir was conducted. For this, water quality, hydrodynamic force, and environmental data were examined for backwater areas of the Xiangxi River and Shennong River during the low-water-level period (June), storage period (September) and high-water-level period (December) in 2018. The results suggest that the mass concentration of total phosphorus (TP) in the water body of the coves of Xiangxi River and Shennong River range from 0.049 mg·L-1 to 0.168 mg·L-1 and 0.059 mg·L-1 to 0.152 mg·L-1, respectively, surpassing the 0.02 mg·L-1 threshold for algal blooms. The mass concentration of TP, DP (orthophosphate), and PP (particulate phosphorus) in the coves of the tributaries were ranked as follows:storage period > high-water-level period > low-water-level period for TP; storage period > low-water-level period > high-water-level period for DP; low-water-level period > high-water-level period > storage period for PP. Based on Pearson's correlation coefficients, TP and DP were significantly correlated as well as temperature and pH, which are the key factors influencing the phosphorus in soils and sediments in the water-level-fluctuation zone. During the low-water-level and high-water-level periods of the Three Gorges Reservoir, the TP in the coves of the tributaries mainly exists as PP, accounting for more than 75% and 60%, respectively. The flow in the coves of the tributaries slows during storage periods, meaning that settlement of PP is enhanced, changing the dominance of TP to dissolved total phosphorus (DTP).

Detection of atmospheric rivers with inline uncertainty quantification: TECA-BARD v1.0.1

Abstract. It has become increasingly common for researchers to utilize methods that identify weather features in climate models. There is an increasing recognition that the uncertainty associated with choice of detection method may affect our scientific understanding. For example, results from the Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP) indicate that there are a broad range of plausible atmospheric river (AR) detectors and that scientific results can depend on the algorithm used. There are similar examples from the literature on extratropical cyclones and tropical cyclones. It is therefore imperative to develop detection techniques that explicitly quantify the uncertainty associated with the detection of events. We seek to answer the following question: given a “plausible” AR detector, how does uncertainty in the detector quantitatively impact scientific results? We develop a large dataset of global AR counts, manually identified by a set of eight researchers with expertise in atmospheric science, which we use to constrain parameters in a novel AR detection method. We use a Bayesian framework to sample from the set of AR detector parameters that yield AR counts similar to the expert database of AR counts; this yields a set of “plausible” AR detectors from which we can assess quantitative uncertainty. This probabilistic AR detector has been implemented in the Toolkit for Extreme Climate Analysis (TECA), which allows for efficient processing of petabyte-scale datasets. We apply the TECA Bayesian AR Detector, TECA-BARD v1.0.1, to the MERRA-2 reanalysis and show that the sign of the correlation between global AR count and El Niño–Southern Oscillation depends on the set of parameters used.

Late Eocene to Late Miocene palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental dynamics of the Ereğli‐Ulukışla Basin (Southern Central Anatolia)

The Ereğli‐Ulukışla Basin which is the focus of this study is situated at the south‐eastern edge of the Central Anatolian Cenozoic basins (Tuzgölü, Haymana, Çankırı‐Çorum, and Sivas), and is divided into two sub‐basins, the Aktoprak (AT) and Hacıbekirli‐Tepeköy (HT). These sub‐basins mainly comprise a stratigraphically discontinuous and laterally variable series, represented by ‘fluvio‐lacustrine’ siliciclastic and carbonate sediments deposited over a wide range of environments, including meandering and braided rivers, coastal fluvial and fan deltas, mixed carbonate‐siliciclastic shores, dry lake flats, and coal‐bearing swamps. In the Ereğli‐Ulukışla Basin, higher palaeotopographic conditions existed in the AT because of the uplift of the Central Anatolian Plateau during late Middle Miocene (Serravallian)‐early Late Miocene (Tortonian) and the subsequent uplift of the Taurus Mountains in the latest Miocene (Messinian) as deduced in the Tepeköy region (northeast) of the HT sub‐basin. Diversity and abundance of archaic pollen (Normapolles) in the pollen biostratigraphy decreased from the Eocene to Oligocene, while forms with advanced angiosperm morphology (post‐Normapolles), were observed with the increase in post‐Normapolles during the Miocene. The dominance of woody angiosperms in the pollen assemblages, and increasing variety and abundance of ‘open herbs’ and shrub pollen from the Early Miocene to Late Miocene defines an important change in flora. Furthermore, the palaeoclimatic conditions changed from humid‐subtropical to warm‐temperate during the sediment deposition in the Ereğli‐Ulukışla Basin. Recurrent arid phases during the Late Miocene are indicated by the deposition of reddish caliche conglomerates in broad dry lake flats (HT), and evaporites in local playa lakes (AT), respectively.

Geochemical insights into groundwater movement in alpine karst, Bear River Range, Utah, USA

Alpine karst aquifers control the availability and longevity of some water resources, but are not well understood. A conceptual model of the alpine karst aquifer system in the Bear River Range of northern Utah (USA) has been developed by geochemical analysis (major ions, δ18O, δ2H and δ13C values) of seasonal water samples from seven perennial springs, and residence-time assessment (3H and CFCs) of two low- and two high-discharge springs. All spring data can be explained by reaction paths dominated by the dissolution of calcian dolomite. The δ13C values align well with reaction paths for open-system dissolution. Saturation indices and low Ca:Mg molar ratios indicate that incongruent dissolution exerts a strong control on water–rock interactions, complicating interpretation of natural solute tracers. Values of δ18O and δ2H in springs follow the Utah meteoric water line. Snow δ18O values correlate with elevation, but not with increasing rainout distance, providing qualitative estimates of recharge elevation that generally align with previous dye-traces to five of the seven springs. Concentrations of 3H and CFCs likely are best described by binary mixing of subannual recharge with 60–65-year-old groundwater, suggesting that the alpine karst aquifer system in the Bear River Range is best represented by a double-porosity model. Subannual recharge documented by dye traces implies that caverns are the primary flowpaths to the springs, but the presence of decadal-age water may indicate that lower permeability flowpaths dominate during baseflow. No evidence was found for a longer-residing flow component, suggesting high sensitivity to future climate variability.

BIOASSESMENT OF BATANG AIR DINGIN WATER QUALITY BY USING MACROZOOBENTHOS IN KOTO TANGAH DISTRICT, PADANG CITY

This study aims to determine the composition and structure of the macrozoobenthos community in Batang Air Dingin and water quality based on BMWP ASPT. This study used a survey method in determining the station by purposive sampling, based on typhical environmental condition along the river. Macrozoobenthos samples was collected by using surber net 30x30 cm2. The result showed the community in the form of Gastropods 6 genera, Insecta 26 genera, Oligochaeta 1 genus, and Hirudinea 1 genus. Total density of macrozoobenthos in the Batang Air Dingin river was 1182,22ind/m2 ranging from 180,00 ind/m2 to 402,22 ind/m2 with the highest density was found in the first station and the lowest at station four. The predominant type found at each station is different, station I is Elophyla, Neopherla, Hydropsyche; station II Eukifferiella, Polypedilum, Elophyla, Hydropsyche; station III Clithon, Eukifferiella, Polypedilum, Orthocladius; station IV Clithonand Thiara. The diversity of macrozoobenthos in Batang Air Dingin river range between 1,95-2,51 is classified as moderate with even distribution (E=0,84) range between 0,81-0,89. Batang Air Dingin water quality using BMWP ASPT from upstream to downstream range between 6,12 – 3,5. Classified unpolluted to heavily polluted.

Landscape evolution, post-LGM surface denudation and soil weathering processes from Dickinson Park mire, Wind River Range, Wyoming (USA)

At mid-latitudes, the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene was characterised by distinct and partially abrupt climatic changes. Also during the Holocene, climatic perturbations, with sometimes cold-dry conditions, have occurred. How land surfaces and soil development processes in high-mountains respond to these climatic oscillations is so far only poorly known. We traced the responses of surfaces in the alpine settings of the Wind River Range (Wyoming, US) by using a large mire as natural archive. This enabled us to reconstruct environmental conditions and ecosystem changes during the Holocene in this montane area. Although adjacent moraine deposits display 10Be exposure ages from the Last Glacial Maximum up to MIS16 or even older, the accessible sediment deposits covered only the Holocene (via radiocarbon dating). By applying a geoforensic approach and deriving sedimentation rates, major climatic signals were detected. A higher deposition (and consequently erosion) rate and thus a higher rate of geomorphic activity was measured for the known cold periods 9.4–10.2 ka BP, 4.2 ka BP and 2.5 ka BP. During the LIA, especially rapid aggradation of organic matter organic matter took place here. Rates of chemical weathering and soil formation seem to have been relatively low until about 5–6 ka BP but have since increased during the Late Holocene. This would fit previous observations of increasing moisture conditions after the mid-Holocene aridity period. In contrast to several other studies, no clear signs of major disturbances (erosion, weathering) during the 8.2 ka event could be observed. Together with the low levels of chemical weathering found here, we do not see any evidence that the climate was more humid during this period. Compared to previous findings, more humid conditions seemed to have returned earlier, i.e. about 5 kyr BP. In general, this landscape displayed a patchy pattern of reaction to environmental changes, as all events were not recorded in each mire profile.